October 5, 1895. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
73 
Old Style Basket. 
The improved Patent Orchid Basket possesses 
other advantages over the ordinary one, inasmuch 
as it has two extra bevelled rods, with flanges partly 
inserted between the two top bars, making the whole 
perfectly rigid, and rendering the top surface level, 
providing more space for the plant, and pre¬ 
venting the escape of water over the sides, thereby 
avoiding the damaging of plants underneath. 
The inside rods forming the bottom of the basket 
are mitred and fixed to the transverse bevelled ones, 
precluding the possibility of their falling out, and 
which facilitates the re-potting of the plant, as 
the whole bottom is easily lifted out. The 
baskets are made in sizes from 4 in. to 15 in. square, 
and are made of the best teak wood, with thick 
copper wire pins, nails, and thinner suspenders. 
The ends of the suspenders have small patent 
catches, by which they may be easily unhinged for the 
purpose of re-basketing the plants. Rafts, cylinders, 
boats, &c., are made on the same patent principle. 
A glance at the accompanying illustrations will show 
the difference between the old and new style of 
basket. We are obliged to the Leeds Orchid Company 
for the illustrations, and also a sample basket at our 
office, which seems to warrant the advantages 
attributed to it. These baskets may be obtained 
from all Orchid growers and sundriesmen for a less 
price that what is charged for the ordinary style of 
basket. 
New Style Basket. (West’s Patent.) 
--f-- 
AYTON CASTLE. 
The imposing aspect and noble proportions of this 
palatial mansion cannot fail to have rivetted the eye 
of the traveller by the “ Flying Scotsman ” from 
Edinburgh to Berwick. It may claim to be one of 
the finest modern castles in Scotland. Its charming 
situation, on a rising ground, overlooking a well- 
wooded vale, with a line of highly cultivated hillside 
beyond, sets oft its turretted wings to advantage, and 
forces the passer-by involuntarily to exclaim, "What 
a magnificent residence ! ” On a closer survey the 
visitor is not disappointed in his first impression. 
Park and gardens are in harmony with the 
magnificence of this finely proportioned pile, and the 
eye that can appreciate such things is at once struck 
with the exquisite taste and care displayed in the 
laying out and the management of both. The 
whole is an eloquent tribute to the magnificent ideas 
of the late Mr. Mitchell Innes, who spent hundreds 
of thousands in the purchase of the estate, the 
erection of the castle, and the re-modelling of its 
environs. It has been rented during the past five 
years by Mr. Galbraith, and the truly munificent 
manner in which the style of the place has been 
maintained speaks volumes for the. generous and 
tasteful enterprise which has characterised his 
tenancy. It is seldom that one finds a tenant so 
lavish of expense in maintaining things in such first- 
class order. The enthusiasm of Mr. Grainger, of 
Newcastle, who has lately purchased the estate of 
Ayton, for landscape gardening is a guarantee that 
horticulture will not suffer by the change of occu¬ 
pant. 
Entering the gardens from the side next the 
castle we are ushered into a magnificent suite of 
conservatories, vineries, stoves, Peach houses, etc., 
constructed some twenty-two years ago by Lowe, of 
Edinburgh. The principal conservatory, forming 
the centre and crowning pile of the whole, is 45 ft. 
long and ^o ft. wide. Its mosaic flooring is rather a 
novel feature, and the pillars of the central passage, 
supporting a lofty arched roof, and festooned with 
Clematis, Tea Roses, Passifloras, Eucalyptus, etc., 
leave an impression as if you were looking through 
the nave of a temple of flora. The side stagings 
bordering a passage running round the whole build¬ 
ing, contain a superb collection of foliage and 
flowering plants, such as Phormiums, Aralias, 
Dracaenas, Ferns, Fuchsias, Pelargoniums, etc., 
most effectively blended and full of vigour. The 
back wall is covered with a mass of Heliotrope, 
which keeps flowering for nine months in the year. 
The effect produced is a proof how well the plant 
adapts itself for wall decoration. On either side of 
the conservatory is a number of vineries and Peach 
houses. The Peach crop had been already gathered, 
but the excellent display of Muscat Hamburgh and 
Bowood Muscat deserve appreciative record. A 
Palm stove, behind the conservatory, contains 
specially fine specimens of Kentia fosteriana and 
belmoreana, several varieties of Asparagus, etc., 
with a very effective hanging of fine-foliaged Begonias 
covering the back wall—all the picture of vigour and 
careful culture. 
In the next house we enter we cannot refrain from 
an exclamation of admiration at the display of Chry¬ 
santhemums, and sympathise with the well-merited 
pride with which our courteous guide points out the 
beauties of one row, resplendent in the first blush of 
dazzling white. The great size and depth of bloom 
presented by such specimens as Eynsford White, 
Bouquet des Dames, Etoile de Lyon, Mrs. Molyneux, 
Comte de Germiny, Exmouth Beauty, etc., are truly 
phenomenal. The collection in this and other 
houses numbers some 800 plants, at various stages of 
maturity, so as to yield continuous blooms from 
September to February. We shall only remark that, 
judging from the fine examples already in flower and 
the perfect health of the remainder, we have here 
the perfection of Chrysanthemum culture. An 
almost equally agreeable surprise awaited us on 
entering the Begonia house, which contains a wonder¬ 
fully rich display of this most effective flower. The 
size and variety of the collection adds to the 
sincerity of our admiration, and along with the large 
and finely-blended beds of this popular flower out¬ 
side shows that Mr. MacKinnon is fully abreast of 
the advance made in its culture, as stated in The 
Gardening World. We may be allowed in this 
connection to report some appreciative remarks 
made on the popularity and the extreme serviceable¬ 
ness to gardeners of the recent Begonia number of 
your excellent weekly. 
We continue our stroll through several other houses 
devoted to Tomatos growing in pots, and the 
rearing of cut flowers and stove plants, and emerge 
on a commanding terrace to find ourselves looking 
down into a vista of flower beds arranged with equal 
skill and charm. We can only note a stray feature 
here and there, which made a special impression on 
the eye, among the dazzling blending of colour. In 
a broad border of Carnations Uriah Pike and Mrs. 
Reynolds Hole were specially noticeable, as well as 
several very fine French seedlings. Descending 
along the main walk we observed some excellent 
floral designs composed of Begonias, Fuchsias, 
Tropaeolum, &c. Lower down a ribbon border 
composed of twelve lines, and embracing a large 
variety of striking colours, a remarkably diversified 
display of single Dahlias, and an excellent collection 
of yellow Marguerites of a kind which deserves to 
be better known among gardeners, deserve com¬ 
mendatory notice. 
We have only time to take a glance at the large 
kitchen garden adjoining. The heavy crop of 
Apples and Pears, and the admirable display of wall 
fruit, including Peaches as well as Plums, speak for 
themselves. The climate and soil of Ayton Gardens 
are more than usually well adapted—for Scotland— 
for the profitable production of fruit and the enormous 
yield of this season is only a sample of what can be 
accomplished in such favourable conditions by 
climate and good management. The same may be 
said of the vegetable crop, which, we must not omit 
to mention, includes some fine patches of the 
famous " Ayton Castle Leeks.” We shall close this 
hurried sketch with a word in praise of the excellent 
order and style displayed by the whole. Mr. 
MacKinnon’s stewardship during the three years of 
his occupancy of the post of head gardener has been 
one of unremitting application and energy, and we 
came away with the impression that they had been 
crowned with abundant success, and deserved a 
passing tribute from The Gardening World.— 
Hortophil. 
- ■» - 
CRAB APPLES. 
A few days since I was looking through the Low- 
field Nurseries of Messrs. J. Cheal and Sons, at 
Crawley, and was much interested in a collection of 
what are known as ornamental Crab Apples. The 
term Crab Apple appears to have come from an old 
Scandinavian or Anglo-Saxon word, scrab or scrobb, 
implying a bush, or wild Apple ; in the Grete Herball 
called a “ W’ood crabbe,” probably because coming 
as wildlings in the woods. We may say of all our 
cultivated Apples that they have come in course of 
time from simple and primitive forms represented in 
our English hedgerows by the Crab, for this seems 
after all to be only one of three or four different 
species, each of which it is believed has played its 
own part in the origination. It has now become the 
practice to call the English Crab and all our culti¬ 
vated Apples by the collective Linnean name of 
Pyrus Malus. 
Now there are many forms of the Crab Apple, and 
it is found that seedlings raised from the pips or 
seeds of Apples vary considerably when they come 
to fruit, and in all probability the tendency always 
is to revert to inferior forms. It is these seedlings 
which are employed by fruit tree nurserymen to bud 
good varieties of Apples upon in order to secure 
rapid increase, and they become known in the 
nursery trade as “ Crab Stocks." I may remark 
that the Crab stock is chiefly used by nurserymen 
for standard Apple trees, as it puts down into the 
soil a strong tap root which affords good anchorage 
to a tree having such a large head as a standard tree 
usually possesses. Then the Crab is generally re¬ 
garded as promoting growth rather than fruitfulness, 
and this is useful in the case of standard trees, as 
they are thus enabled for a time to form good heads 
rather than produce fruit. 
Selected Ornamental Crab Apples. 
From time to time some species, or varieties of 
the species, have been selected and cultivated as 
ornamental trees, in which respect they are most 
attractive. They are invaluable for planting in 
shrubberies, where they furnish two periods of 
service—one when they are in pleasant bloom in 
spring, the other when their branches are laden with 
ruddy fruit towards the autumn. Ihey are not 
nearly so much planted as they should be, and I 
think it is largely owing to the fact that they are 
imperfectly known. There are two Siberian Crabs, 
red fruited and yellow fruited, varieties of Pyrus 
baccata. These bear flowers in spring much resem¬ 
bling those of the common Pear, followed by num¬ 
bers of small fruit, that are highly attractive at this 
season of the year. Standard trees of these, with 
their heads of ripe fruit thrust absve surrounding 
shrubs, have a bold and striking appearance. Any¬ 
one liking an harsh taste in an Apple will find these 
Siberian Crabs palatable, but their fruit may be 
safely left to the birds as one of their perquisites. 
Messrs. Cheal & Son have fruiting at the present 
time a very fine variety of the Siberian Crab, which 
they denominate Cheal’s Scarlet ; the fruit is much 
redder and brighter in colour, and without the cavity 
round the eye of the fruit which is characteristic of 
the ordinary Siberian. This promises to make a 
highly ornamental tree, fit to be planted in any 
prominent position. John Downie, a very distinct, 
bright-coloured Crab is one of the most striking. 
The fruit is longer than that of the Siberian, from 
which it is in all probability a seedling, in colour a 
brilliant orange-red, and it both fruits and blooms 
very freely. An American Crab, named Transcen¬ 
dent, is also very fine, producing branches and 
bunches of fruit which, when ripened in the sun, are 
gaudy in the extreme. It also well deserves to be 
planted. Then there is the Transparent Crab, 
having pale-coloured, creamy-white, transparent 
fruit, which is also one of the most ornamental. 
Then there is the Dartmouth Crab, which produces 
